The Oilers were the only team in the NHL without a shorthanded goal this season, a humbling streak that came to a merciful end yesterday in San Jose.

The suddenly hot Patrick O’Sullivan jumped on a turnover and went coast to coast before beating goalie Thomas Greiss in the third period.

Nobody expected the Oilers would take 47 games to get a shortie.

“Lot’s of things are happening I didn’t think would happen,” said head coach Pat Quinn. “But we’ve struggled killing penalties, so you get in a place where you’re thinking let’s just kill it, you’re not thinking about attack.

“I’ve always seemed to feel if there’s a threat that you’re going to go the other way, it helps you kill the penalty, but we’ve never formed that threat.”

The goal was O’Sullivan’s sixth point in the last five games.

“You have to be able to provide a little bit of offence when you’re shorthanded once in a while,” he said. “Look at San Jose, they have seven.”